Organization
Save Khmer at UW
Save Khmer at UW is a grassroots, community-led campaign to preserve the Khmer Language Program at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle.[1] It works through advocacy and fundraising. Its organizers describe themselves as members of the Khmer diaspora and children of survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide. The campaign's slogan is ងើបឈរដើម្បីភាសាខ្មែរ.[1]
Campaign
The campaign is not affiliated with the University of Washington, and it is not a university student organization. It does not operate as its own registered charity. Its fiscal sponsor is the Cambodian American Community Council of Washington (CACCWA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so direct donations are tax-deductible.[1]
As of September 2026, the goal is to raise $100,000 by June 2027, the cost of running the Khmer Language Program at UW for one full year. The money is meant to show the university how much the community values the program. The organizers also work with community leaders who are pressing for state funding to keep the program going.[1]
The campaign began with Flowers for Flourishing, a bouquet fundraiser with the grower Yeng Gardens, and then moved its giving to Givebutter. Gifts are also accepted by check or cash, and donors can give through CACCWA by marking the gift for Save Khmer at UW.[1][2] The fiscal sponsor lets the campaign apply for grants and receive larger gifts. Save Khmer Language at UW was one of the community partners behind the Seattle Mariners' Cambodian Heritage Night at T-Mobile Park on September 24, 2026. Part of the ticket sales went to the Khmer Language Arts and Culture Academy (KLACA) and to the effort to save Khmer at UW.[1][3] In September 2026 KLACA featured the campaign in an Organization Spotlight on its Facebook page.[4]
The UW Khmer Language Program
Khmer courses at UW began in 2012 with funding from a federal Title VI grant. They followed strong advocacy by the Khmer Students Association and the wider Cambodian community.[5][6] In 2017 the university considered dropping the language but decided against it.[6] The program was housed in the Jackson School of International Studies until 2023. From fall 2023 the Department of Asian Languages and Literature offered the Khmer courses.[7][8]
UW is one of seven U.S. universities where students can learn to read, write and speak Khmer.[6] In January 2026 the International Examiner called it the last top-tier (R1) research university on the West Coast to teach Khmer.[5] The longtime lecturer Luoth Yin has retired. The lecturer as of 2026 is Nielson Hul, who came from Cornell University.[6][5]
In 2025 the U.S. Department of Education canceled funding to all national resource centers. UW's Center for Southeast Asia & its Diasporas lost its entire $500,000 federal award, including support for language instructors.[6] The Department of Asian Languages and Literature put together one year of funding to keep the program running through 2025-26, and it called on the community to help keep the program alive after that.[5] On December 10, 2025, students, professors and members of the Cambodian and Khmer-speaking community met at Le's Deli & Bakery in South Seattle to discuss the program's future.[5]
In January 2026 supporters were asked to write to state legislators, the UW Board of Regents, the UW president and provost, and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. They were also asked to give to the Center for Southeast Asia and its Diasporas and to enroll in UW Khmer courses, which are open to anyone. Higher enrollment makes the university more likely to keep the program.[5] For 2026-27 the program has been cut back from courses at all three levels to beginner Khmer only, and there is no funding beyond that academic year.[1][9]
See also
- Khmer Language Arts and Culture Academy
- Cambodian American Community Council of Washington
- Khmer Student Association at University of Washington
- Khmer at the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute
- Current campaigns
- All organizations
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Save Khmer at UW, Givebutter campaign page
- ↑ Cambodian American Community Council of Washington, Donate
- ↑ Stayhappening, Seattle Mariners Cambodian Heritage Night listing
- ↑ KLACA on Facebook, Organization Spotlight: Save Khmer at UW (September 2026)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 International Examiner, community gathers to save UW's Khmer language program (January 2026)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Northwest Asian Weekly, UW Khmer program at risk (December 2025)
- ↑ UW Department of Asian Languages and Literature, Asia Notes (2023)
- ↑ UW Department of Asian Languages and Literature, Khmer
- ↑ UW Department of Asian Languages and Literature, course listings